THE average mortgage taken out by a first-time buyer has nearly tripled during the past 10 years, figures showed today.

In 1996 people borrowed an average of just £39,811 to get on to the property ladder, but this had soared to around £120,500 by 2006, according to online mortgage group mform.co.uk.

The group said this was an increase of over 170 per cent, or around 11 per cent a year, and it warned that if borrowing continued to increase at this rate, the average first-time buyer mortgage would be more than £200,000 by 2012.

Marketing and business development director at mform, Francis Ghiloni, said: "First-time buyers increasingly need to find huge sums of money in order to get on to the property ladder.

"For a first-time buyer to take out a mortgage that is three times their salary today, we estimate that they would need to be earning £40,190, but by 2012, it would need to be £66,806."

Ferndown-based independent mortgage adviser Debbie Boyes said: "House prices have shot up way ahead of salaries. Lenders have responded to this by not just using the traditional income multiple but they now look at affordability. There's a difference in commitments between couples, for instance, one couple might be running two cars and another might not - that will make a difference in terms of how much they can borrow."

She added: "Unsurprisingly first time buyers are becoming older - they are now in their mid-30s.

"People are now turning to renting instead because its flexibility allows people to move around. This alternative allows for living in a particular area for a short period of time. For instance, a couple who couldn't afford to live in a sought after area like Sandbanks might be able to afford to rent there for a few months instead.

First time buyers are having to look evermore carefully at ways of saving money.

Debbie continued: "Most first-timers who come to us have rented before and then often stay with their parents to save for their deposit."